March 19th, 2026.



At an East Sussex County Council Planning Meeting yesterday, Councillors voted unanimously to approve the Traffic Regulation Orders relating to the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) for Newhaven.

Newhaven Liberal Democrat Councillors have spent the last two years taking part in consultations alongside residents, and whilst the scheme has been paired down, there are still concerns about the scheme not being value for money and causing more problems with congestion for other road users.

“Whilst I welcome the Council’s project to improve bus journeys through the town, I am concerned that the congestion situation hasn’t been solved first. We need some radical thinking by East Sussex Highways to improve traffic flow between Denton Corner and the bridge or the BSIP Project will be a waste of money,” said Cllr Lesley Boniface.

“At the meeting, the bus company representative said that with the newly designed interchange buses would avoid sitting in the same queues as other road users. It’s extremely hard to see how this will change, as they will still join the traffic when they leave Denton Corner. I've been seeking clarification on journey time savings since the first consultation I attended, and I'm still not convinced that the savings warrant the expenditure," Cllr Boniface added.

Councillor Jo Pettitt, Denton Ward, also has concerns about the project: “ESCC keeps ignoring the daily reality for Newhaven residents stuck in gridlocked traffic on crumbling roads. Charging ahead with an expensive bus scheme for the Drove, before dealing with the congestion crisis is like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.”